Tim Kennedy Required Bodyguards at UFC 205 Due to ISIS Threats

Beyond being a decorated MMA fighter with wins over current middleweight champ Michael Bisping and former welterweight champ Robbie Lawler, Tim Kennedy is a special forces operator. He's a bonafide military badass who, as rumor has it, was the real American Sniper. He just wouldn't ever overtly admit that because despite being an outgoing and relatively abrasive personality at times, Mr. Kennedy is pretty damn humble.

Unfortunately, he hasn't fought in the Octagon for over two years. He was scheduled to fight Rashad Evans at UFC 205, but that fight fell through when Evans couldn't get licensed due to complications with his medicals. The fight was promptly rescheduled for UFC 206, but not irregularities with Evans' MRI have him pulled from that fight.

On top of fight drama, it turns out Kennedy needs to have bodyguards due to threats he received from ISIS earlier in the year. He told the Army Times:

“Apparently a couple of them were legitimate in trying to, from what the FBI said, plan stuff. They said, ‘Are you aware of this stuff?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ They said, ‘We think this is somewhat credible.’ Then I said, ‘I’m kind of desensitized to this stuff, so maybe you should tell me what my level of alarm should be.’ ”

Now, on the MMA Hour, Kennedy has revealed that he had bodyguards at UFC 205 due to these threats. According to Kennedy, the FBI told him that ISIS reached out to train and send someone to kill him. This is some heavy stuff.

Granted, Twitter has their takes.

Tim Kennedy v ISIS to be announced as replacement fight due to Rashad Evans' injury #UFCNYC#UFC205

This is due to his celebrity coming from Hunting Hitler and other shows after 15 years of being a sniper and killing many "bad dudes."

The FBI let him know that ISIS was trying to recruit someone to kill him in Texas.

Kennedy minced no words on ISIS:

"They're a bunch of little nasty assholes that do a bunch of nasty, evil things to the human race and I don't like 'em, so they respond in kind. Killing a Green Beret is a feather in their cap. But killing a guy like me, because I'm an outspoken anti-asshole American, but I'm also a special Ranger-qualified Green Beret."